4
Apr

WonderCon fb gallery now up – it’s just the preview set, unprocessed and rough – http://on.fb.me/fGNquu #wondercon

Category : Uncategorized
23
Feb

Facebook users are now able to opt out of receiving Group chat messages. That option does in fact exist, accessible via the “Edit Settings” button on the group’s page.

Although Facebook’s addition of a more sophisticated Groups has added some beneficial privacy features, there have been numerous complaints, particularly when it comes to email and chat notifications. While the ability to send chat messages to any online group member might be great in some circumstances, as Group Chat allows any member to send messages to everyone in the group who’s online, clearly there can be some problems.

Category : Uncategorized
6
Dec

I did not realise that declared variables in SQL are effectively “static” when used in rowsets. That is, the following code:

create table roles(role nvarchar(50))
GO
insert roles
select ‘Administrator’ union
select ‘Editor’ union
select ‘User’
go

declare @roles nvarchar(1024)
select @roles = isnull(@roles + ‘, ‘, ”) + role from roles
select @roles
go

drop table roles
go

yeilds “Administrator, Editor, User“.

Now instead of returning rowset of roles for a user and then concatenating results in client-side code, I can just write a function similar to:

create function fnGetUserRoleVerbose(@userid int, @delim nvarchar(2) = ‘, ‘)
returns nvarchar(1024)
as
begin
declare @role nvarchar(1024)

select
@role = isnull(@role + @delim, ”) + roles.name
from
users
inner join users_roles
on users.id = userid
inner join roles
on roleid = roles.id
where
users.id = @userid

return @role
end

and then just do this:

string roles = (string) SqlHelper.ExecuteScalar(
myConnectionString,
CommandType.Text,
string.Format(“select dbo.fnGetUserRoleVerbose({0}, default)”, userId));

Category : Uncategorized
6
Dec

select top 1 * from mytable order by newid()

It just works.

Category : Uncategorized
18
Nov
By: Allison Ford
We’ve all heard that blondes are dumb, brunettes are smart and dependable, and that curly-haired women are unhinged, but of all the hair stereotypes out there, no one suffers more injustice than redheads do. Throughout history, they’ve been subjected to discrimination and fearful prejudice, being viewed as untrustworthy, mischievous, temperamental, and lustful. In ancient Egypt, red hair was seen as so unlucky, red-haired girls were burned alive. According to Greek myths, redheads turn into vampires when they die. It’s even said that redheads get stung by bees more often. Ouch!
It can be hard to grow up with red hair, constantly getting called names like “ginger” and “carrot top.” Having the rarest hair color might make a redhead feel awkward, but it turns out that there are some special attributes that make them pretty unique. Maybe they’re the ones who have more fun. At the very least, their hair doesn’t go gray.
The Rarity of Red
In the late 1990s, scientists discovered that gene mutation causes red headedness. Specifically, it’s a variant of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), one of the key proteins that determines hair and skin color. The mutated gene is recessive, so in order for someone to have red hair, she has to inherit two copies of the gene, one from each parent. Lots of people, especially those with Northern European ancestry, carry one copy of MC1R, but relatively few carry the two copies required for flaming tresses. Red hair can occur in any ethnicity, but the greatest concentration of redheads originates in Northern Europe, near the U.K. Scotland has the highest percentage of natural redheads, with 13 percent and Ireland is a close second, with 10 percent. Only about 2 percent of people in the United States have naturally red hair.
If red hair is so rare, why does it occur so often in the same geographic area? Some biologists think that it’s an evolutionary adaptation. In cold and dark climates, fair coloring lets the skin absorb more light, which encourages the body to retain heat and produce more vitamin D. Also, for most of human history, people didn’t stray very far from the place where they were born and intermarried with people with similar genetic traits. When there were plenty of people carrying the gene, their children were very likely to get two copies of the mutated MC1R. Now that people migrate more, carriers of MC1R are more likely to intermarry with non-carriers. That’s good for genetic diversity, but maybe not so good for the survival of redheads in general.
For the past few years, there’s been a rumor that redheads are going extinct, but that’s not exactly true. Because of intermarriage, the numbers are declining, but there will always be redheads, because there will always be carriers of the MC1R gene. It might be less likely that one carrier will meet another and have redheaded children, but it’s always a possibility. In fact, it’s not so far-fetched to imagine a future where everyone knows exactly what’s in his or her genome, and MC1R carriers can choose to have children with fellow carriers, maximizing the likelihood that their children will have red hair.
A Redheaded “Knockout?”

The mutated MC1R gene has some other surprising effects. Although doctors and medical practitioners have long speculated that redheads were harder to sedate, a recent study from the University of Louisville determined that redheads really do require more anesthesia during surgery.
The researchers ran an experiment where they put women under sedation, and then tested their response to pain. The redheaded patients required 20 to 30 percent more anesthetic than other women to achieve the same level of sedation. Scientists at the university also tried to replicate the experiment with mice, and found that animals with a MC1R mutation required more sedation, too. They theorize that the mutated gene somehow has implications beyond hair color, and perhaps affects hormones or enzymes involved in our neurological system.
The Siren Song of Red Hair

Throughout history, redheads have been mistrusted and maligned. In medieval Europe, the infamous witch-hunting manual, Malleus Maleficarum, instructed that red hair and green eyes were marks of a witch, as were freckles, which redheads tend to have aplenty. This belief might have stemmed from the general consensus that redheads were evil, wanton, and hot-tempered. In the Bible, Mary Magdalene and Judas Iscariot are often portrayed as redheads, as was Lilith, Adam’s first wife who insisted on sexual equality. Even Jonathan Swift, in his 1726 classic Gulliver’s Travels, characterized redheads as being wanton and promiscuous.
There might actually be some truth to the myth of the lustful redhead. A recent study by a sex researcher in Hamburg, Germany found that women with red hair had sex more often. Another survey in England duplicated those findings, and reported that redheads had sex an average of three times per week, compared to twice per week for blondes and brunettes. For these studies, it didn’t matter whether the women’s hair was naturally red or Natural Instincts. Of all the women who color their hair, 30 percent choose to become redheads—more than the 27 percent who go brunette and the 26 percent who go blonde. Some scientists theorize that these women are capitalizing on the perception of the fiery redhead to signal to men that they are looking for partners.
Even if redheads do have to endure a lifetime of sunburns and being called “ginger,” their hair doesn’t just make them stand out, it makes them incredibly unique. Some famous fiery redheads include Queen Elizabeth I, Galileo, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, and Vincent Van Gogh. More recent redheads include comedienne Lucille Ball and birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger. Not exactly a bad crowd to be associated with, if you ask me. If this is the company that redheads keep, then I’m off to the salon.
First published April 2009
Category : Uncategorized
18
Nov

Natural redheads are easy to spot but hard to emulate: they generally have blue, green or hazel eyes and a creamy, milky-white complexion that’s not often found in nature (at least not in an era of sunless spray tanning). Others have freckles that make them look eternally youthful, although finding a perfectly matched foundation can be difficult. These beauty tips will help you on your quest to find the best makeup colors for red hair, whether yours is natural or (most likely) not. Try on the best makeup for red hair in our virtual makeup studio.

“If you’re a natural red head (a fiery temptress if you will) you embody the true meaning of rare beauty. Less than 5% of the human population is born with red hair. The rest of us are totally faux.”

If you have freckles, don’t erase, embrace! Foundation is designed to even out your skin tone, not erase all character from your face, so opt for a sheer or medium-coverage foundation or tinted moisturizer for the most natural-looking result. Because redheads tend to have sensitive skin that is prone to redness, steer clear of pink-based foundations—yellow and gold tones are so much more flattering. You simply want to warm up your look and you can also do this with a dusting of light bronzer and apricot or peach blush (again, stay away from pink).

When selecting your eye makeup color palette, think warm, autumnal colors: olive green, chestnut, caramel, honey, and burnt raisin all look fierce on redheads, while pink and blue eye shadows don’t flatter an ultra pale complexion. Swap black mascara and black eye liner (they’re too harsh, at least for daytime) for a rusty brown, especially if you have hazel or green eyes.

Category : Uncategorized
17
Nov

Muggle Quidditch is a co-ed sport based on Quidditch. It is popular with fans of the novels, fictional sports aficionados, and children. In Muggle Quidditch, as in Wizard Quidditch there are four positions on a team. Due to the fact that Wizarding Quidditch is based on fictional devices and concepts such as magic, Muggle Quidditch has been adapted for play on the ground, with game play confined to a playing field comparable in size to a football pitch.

The equipment in Muggle Quidditch varies depending on venue. Often three hula hoops held up by PVC pipes are used as the goals on either side of the playing field. Volleyballs, basketballs and dodge balls are often used as Quaffles, with softer objects like Nerf balls or Wiffle Balls acting as Bludgers. Often, for more competitive leagues, Chasers will use a Frisbee as a Quaffle. This allows for a much more intense experience. Beaters may use tennis rackets to ‘serve’ the Bludgers. Beaters also may use dodge balls to simulate the Bludgers, while still allowing precise aim. Tennis rackets do not quite allow the precision spoken of in the Harry Potter novels. In more extreme versions of the game, Bludgers are eliminated and the beaters are allowed to tackle the chasers and other players (seeker and keeper are generally off limits when tackling). While the Snitch is a magical object within the canon of the Harry Potter novels, in Muggle Quidditch the Snitch is most often a sort of neutral player, usually dressed in all gold, sometimes adorned with wings. The Snitch, after release, is usually allowed to roam an area beyond the playing field. When played on a college campus the range is often the entire campus.
Positions in Muggle Quidditch:
  • Chasers are responsible for passing the Quaffle and scoring points by throwing the Quaffle through one of the opponent’s goals. Three or four chasers from a team may be in play at one time. When a Bludger hits a Chaser in possession of the Quaffle, he or she must drop the Quaffle and run back to his or her own goalpost to simulate recovery time.
  • Keepers are the goal protectors (similar to goalkeepers in football(soccer)) and must try to block attempts to score by the opposing team’s Chasers. One keeper from a team may be in play at a time. In most versions of the game, the keeper is invulnerable to Bludgers when within a reasonable distance of his/her teams’ hoops. In other versions, when the keeper is hit by a bludger from the opposing team while that team is in scoring range, the keeper must freeze for 2–3 seconds to simulate the recovery time in magical Quidditch.
  • Beaters attempt to hit the opposing team’s players with Bludgers and attempt to block the Bludgers from hitting their team’s players. Two Beaters on a team may be in play at a time.
  • Seekers attempt to catch the Golden Snitch, set into play during the game. (In some variations the snitch is released at halftime, in others at an undisclosed time.) Seekers may play as Chasers before the Snitch’s release.
Established Muggle Quidditch games:
Intercollegiate Quidditch Association – Founded on the campus of Middlebury College, in Vermont, the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association is the outgrowth of wildly popular on-campus tourneys. The Association currently encompasses 226 schools including Vassar College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Marlboro College, Emerson College, Cornell University, Boston University, and Bucknell University. The 2006 Middlebury Quidditch World Cup gained the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which subsequently profiled the phenomenon on its front page, while the 2007 edition was featured as a cover story in the ‘Life’ section of the 27 November 2007 edition of USA Today. A portion of a Middlebury College – Amherst College match was shown live on the CBS morning show on 28 March 2008. 14 schools attended the 2008 Quidditch World Cup from as far away as the University of Washington and Louisiana State University. This is the first year that another country supplied a team (McGill University from Canada). A site was launched to show a live feed of the tournament.
“Muggle Quidditch,” or “Ground Quidditch,” began in 2005 as an intramural league at Middlebury College in Vermont. The rules were adapted from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels by Alexander Manshel, the first Quidditch Commissioner.
In 2006, Alex Benepe took over as the Middlebury Commissioner and, in 2007, founded the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association following the first intercollegiate Quidditch match between Middlebury College and Vassar College on November 11, 2007.
Since then the IQA has helped students from more than 400 colleges and 300 high schools form teams, and over half of them are active already. The vast majority are based in the US, where Quidditch is represented in 45 states. US teams are split into five regions: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West. Other countries with teams or leagues that play by IQA rules include Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
In 2010 the IQA changed its name to the International Quidditch Association and became a registered nonprofit organization. Today the IQA comprises the Commissioner and President, Alex Benepe, and college volunteers making up the Board of Directors, seven Regional Directors and a dozen Regional Correspondents who work together to network and coordinate matches between schools around the country.
The IQA serves to promote Quidditch as a new sport and lead outreach programs to increase athletic participation among children and young adults and bring magic to communities.
The fourth annual world cup was held November November 13–14, 2010 in DeWitt Clinton Park in New York City. Its website said 46 teams representing 757 athletes competed
Category : Uncategorized

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